Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here today after a very long absence. You may remember me from such posts as “Bulking Up”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
I think you get why we’ve been gone for so very long. Longer than ever before, according to the guy I live with.
Things have been like this for quite some time.
We did have a couple of nice days at the beginning of this month, and the snowdrops were out.
But it’s mostly been cold here. In fact, I haven’t gone on my evening walk at least five times in the last month, because it’s been so cold.
There are a lot of geese, and lots of honking in the sky. The guy I live with said in the winter there are more geese than humans along the Front Range in Colorado.
It’s hard to believe that in maybe less than a month water will be flowing in the canal.
The guy I live with has mostly been taking pictures of the willows, and posting some of them on Facebook.
The same willow on an overcast evening.
We haven’t heard any owls lately, though I have seen coyote tracks in the snow.
The guy I live with said we’re just waiting for spring, which here can come early and then go away, over and over again.
He says it’s more beneficial to live in the moment, which I of course do naturally, except when dinnertime gets close, but it’s been so much colder than normal, or felt like it anyway, that just being in the moment can sometimes feel like being in an endless loop.
And also the willow pictures are better in the winter than they are in the summer, because naturally they’re hidden by lots of leaves in the summer.
This was taken right before it started to snow.
This one was taken a few evenings ago when it wasn’t too cold to walk down the creek.
So that’s it for today. We’re still here. The guy I live with is painting the kitchen, and I’m taking lots of naps.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Goodness; I thought that I somehow unfollowed your blog. I was about to investigate why it had been such a while since I noticed a post. I suspected that I merely overlooked your posts. Anyway, it is easy to see why your winters are less fun than other seasons. At least there is more time for winter chores, if it is not too cold for the guy you live with to get outside to do them. We do not get much time to finish all the dormant pruning, which is why I start early.
Well the guy I live with says winters here aren’t usually constantly cold, though he also says maybe that’s changed in the last five or so years.
It’s supposed to be in the 60s next week, which the guy I live with says is more like it.
So many species of willow are difficult to distinguish from others. I suspect that there are more native species there. They look like the most common species here, but with so many others in your region, it is likely not.
The guy I live with said he thinks all the big willows here are Salix amygdaloides. There are coyote willows (S. exigua) along the creek, and an actual weeping willow north of here, where the old farmstead was.
Oh, so coyote willow is there also. I do not notice it much, although it is native here. I think it lives where the San Lorenzo River slows down through Santa Cruz. It is probably more common in the Santa Clara Valley, but it is not a species that I look for.
Yes, they grow along the creek, and also along the canal.
That willow will be famous. I can see tourists coming to see it. We have had unusual weather here with 11 days without sunshine which is a record, a dull record but one nonetheless!
The guy I live with said he would charge people to see it, but anyone can walk down the creek utnil 10 p.m. when the “park” technically closes.
We have plenty of sun, but I imagine you would object to the evening walk we just had; 19F (-7.2C). It would have been nicer without a breeze.
Yes, I think your low temperatures would be hugely challenging for us; very uncommon here.
Well that’s not even what we would call cold, here. The guy I live with said we lack an east-west mountain range to the north of us to block arctic air. (There’s only one high east-west range on the continent, or at least in this country, the Uinta Mountains which are mostly in Utah.)
So one winter a long time ago it got down to -27F (-32.7C), which the guy I live with said was really cold. Fortunately those arctic things are not very common.
It’s snowing now, but it’s supposed to be 17.7C by Monday.
Our record low temperature here was -7C around 2010/11. That was too cold for us.
30 cm of snow on the ground this morning. That’s a lot for February. The guy I live with says 15C tomorrow and then even warmer next week, so we expect a lot of mud.
Beautiful photos, as always. I keep checking for signs of bulbs emerging in my garden, planted last fall, but nothing yet. (They aren’t snowdrops, though.) I am impatient for spring.
Thanks. We’re hoping that spring brings some rain, which it hasn’t in the last several years (just snow).
The hyacinths were about an inch tall but haven’t seen them with the recent snow storms. Plus it’s too bloody cold to poke around for them. Stay warm, Mani…it’s below zero this morning; we don’t plan on going for walks any time soon and trying hard to keep two bored to tears dogs occupied. Elsa contracted canine bronchitis which then led to canine pneumonia so going out for her is very restricted to only brief potty visits. We’re all so over this winter.
Oh, pneumonia, that sounds bad. Hope she recovers.
It was pretty chilly on our evening walk just now, 19F, with more of a breeze than the guy I live with thought necessary.
This winter does seem to be one of the colder ones, not so much in low temperatures but in continual cold. There’s still snow on the ground from two or three snowfalls ago.
This weather is very boring to me. The guy I live with refuses to have the back door open all day, for some myserious reason.
Thanks for the get well wishes; we’ve got our paws crossed she responds to the antibiotics. The warmer forecast cannot arrive soon enough for us. Stay warm.
You’re welcome. I’ve been on antibiotics once or twice and they turned my condition around within a couple of days.
I got some yogurt, too, because that’s supposed to be good for my insides when I take antibiotics. I like yogurt a lot.
The willow tree pix are ethereally beautiful! I thought they must be crack willow (Salix fragilis) a huge and beautiful (but invasive) tree around here. Didn’t know peach-leaf willow got that big! Anyway, gorgeous.
Thanks. The guy I live with really isn’t sure if they’re peach-leafed or crack willows. He keeps meaning to check, but forgets.
But peach-leaf does get that big.
Yeah, Mani, it’s been super cold for us here in Texas today, but we’ve been riding the winter rollercoaster for weeks and we are supposed to be basking in the 70s by next week so…be well and stay warm.
It’s supposed to be warm here next week, and then maybe some rain.
But snow for tomorrow—again–and Friday too.
The guy I live with is fine with snow on the ground, though.
Thanks for taking us on this winter walk, Mani! Those willows are gorgeous; they remind me of old silverprint processes, practically tactile.
Here’s hoping it gets warmer soon… looking forward to seeing the crocus and hyacinths in your part of the world as they emerge!
You’re welcome. The willows are very photogenic. There are a few more at the south end of the field but now there are dogs that try to jump the fence, so we don’t go that way, these days.
It’s supposed to be 49F tomorrow and 61F on Sunday. Lots of melting in the next few days.